Why Did I Run?
by MikeRedJurassic10
Summary: She could have been back home. She would have been back with a new family and start over with life. But why? Why did she run? A small one-shot following 'The Search' comic story arc.


_**A/N: This is my first story based on Avatar which is based on something I've been thinking about a lot.**_

 _ **Hope you like it!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All rights belong to Nickelodeon and the series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.**_

…

" _Come back! Please!" Zuko cried as he followed her. She kept running. Running from the one thing she always wanted. Because she was afraid of it._

Love _. The one thing she always wanted in her youth. What she craved for. The love from her mother. The love she wished she had from her. Father, too. Zuko's love. She saw other boys and girls her age who had all of those. She_ wanted _that. So why was she running away from it when it came?_ _She didn't know how to answer it. Maybe she lost all sanity to even know her actions? Maybe she just couldn't react properly upon knowing how much her brother and mother had actually loved her from the start._

 _So why did she run?_

 _Their mother, was close behind Zuko as well. She did not say a word however. Azula neared the Forgetful Valley entrance, wanting to escape them. Then she heard her brother call out again, "I can help you! I_ want _to help you."_

 _Azula stood upon the opening that was leading to the valley and eyed her brother once more with tears in her eyes, "Same as always, Zuzu. Even when you're_ strong, _you're_ weak _!" And she darted off, hoping never to be followed by either of them._

" _Azula!" Once again, she heard Zuko shout. The princess imagined Zuko standing a few feet away from her. Watching her_

 _Running. That was all she did, not taking a break. She just ran._

 _And ran._

 _And ran._

 _Faster._

 _And faster._

 _And faster._

 _Further away. From the truth. Away from her mother. Away from her brother. Away from her home. Away from everything. Away from_ love.

 _The density of the valley had deepened. It got darker as she kept moving. As she continued going, she shouted even though she thought nobody was there, "You're not going to follow me!"_

 _Then suddenly, there was a voice who replied back loudly, "Yes, I am! Because I want to!"_

 _She gasped to herself as she took a small glimpse at what was behind her. Azula was angry, yet somewhat emotionally touched, to see her brother still chasing after her. The princess began to pant slowly, knowing that she wasn't going to keep running forever. Despite being exhausted, she sensed her brother stopping as well, watching her pant._

" _Azula," Zuko said, carefully sauntering forward, "Just because I'm willing to give a real brother and sister relationship a shot… doesn't make me weak. It shows what kind of person I am."_

 _She didn't bother run, instead listened. The tears began to fall as she said between breaths, "Shut… up."_

" _Why does our relationship have to be like this? When it can be better for our family."_

" _Shut up." She choked, lighting up her hands with blue flames, preparing herself to fire at Zuko, "You don't mean any of this! It's just some trick!"_

" _No. You're my sister, Azula. And I love you," he said as he got close, "I really do."_

 _It was just like what mother had told her during her psychotic episodes. She heard her mother say something to her. The exact three words. It was all in her head. She looked all around her, "Mother, I knew it was you pulling all the strings!"_

" _Azula, I love you." Zuko said again as he was closer._

" _SHUT UP!" She blasted a firebolt at him, but he controlled it and threw it up into the sky._

" _I love you."_

" _No you don't!" Azula shouted as she blasted even more while she moved back as Zuko crept forward with a single step, reciting the same phrase again and again._

" _I love you."_

" _For the sake of the spirits! JUST SHUT UP!" She separated her inner positive and negative energies and pointed her two closed fingers at Zuko, shooting out a stream of lightning. Her reckless actions and lack of thinking made her forget that her brother had mastered the redirection technique, "Damn it! Why can't you_ not _do anything!?"_

" _Azula, stop it." He begged, "Don't fight what you always desired when it's coming for you."_

" _Don't," She whispered. Then she felt a hard surface on her back, a tree. She was stuck now, "Fuck."_

" _Give up your act of being tough and that you don't need us," he was right up to her face. He placed his hands on her cheeks and smiled, "You come home."_

 _More of her tears came. She was beginning feeling it for the first time. She had let that hate go. The love she always wanted had flooded her being. It felt so good as she sobbed in bittersweet joy. Azula jumped on her brother, enclosing him in a tight hug, "I love you, Zuzu!"_

" _I love you too, 'Zula," he hugged her back. Brother and sister finally reunited. Yet for some reason, he sighed sadly as his voice echoed unnaturally, "But now you have to wake up."_

 _And she did._

…

"ZUZU!" Azula jerked up, clutching her chest and panting. Her face was covered in sweat as her long hair was all over the place. She eyed and checked her surroundings, looking for her brother. Even her mother. But she remembered where she was. She was still there.

She was still there in the Forgetful Valley, living in a shelter that she had constructed by herself. Her pink and maroon coloured clothes were weathered and mostly torn, showing some of her silky pale skin, he. Azula was far from home. Too far to remember her way back. The princess began to cry. Uncontrollably, "Why? WHY!?"

"Why did I run?" She held herself as she curled into a ball, "Why did I run?"

She cried herself back to sleep. Where another dream occured.

…

" _ZUZU!" Azula woke up the same way, also clutching her chest, panting, sweating and with messy hair. Eyeing her surroundings, she was back in the palace in her bedroom, wearing her favoured red and golden sleepwear._

" _Azula?" A voice asked, "What happened?"_

 _It was Zuko, and she felt herself sink down the bed. He came and sat down on the side of her bed, and she started to cry again. She attacked him with an embrace, nuzzling her face to hide in his chest, "I'm so sorry!"_

" _It's okay, 'Zula. It's okay," he comforted her, patting and rubbing circles around her back, "You're safe now. You're home."_

" _But why did I do it?" She brought her head up and looked at him, "Why did I run?"_

" _Because you were afraid. But you don't have to be anymore. There's no need for that."_

 _While she felt relieved seeing Zuko, she still knew it was dream. He wasn't real._

" _But right now, you're still not home."_

" _I know," she replied, disappointed with the truth of her_ real _surroundings, "I don't want to be here anymore. I just want to go home."_

" _You can. You just need to find a way."_

" _How?"_

 _Zuko chuckled and kissed her forehead, she blushed, "You're a firebending prodigy. Finding your way home shouldn't be a problem. For now… wake up."_

 _And then again, she did._

…

There was no jolt, or scream from her. It was a peaceful awakening.

"I'm going home." She said triumphantly.

And one thing was for certain. She was not going to run away this time.

Why bother?

…

 _ **Cheesy ending I know, but I like 'cheesy' sometimes.**_

 _ **To be honest, I think Zuko and Azula are two fascinating characters, not merely because they are siblings, but very compelling on two fronts. Zuko represents the seeking of redemption and how it can lead to better things for the future, while Azula is the representation of how power can corrupt oneself that can cause long-term paranoia and loss of sanity. So it's fun to take these characters to new heights and different directions. I just love them both. What do you think?**_

 _ **For now, this story is a one-shot, but we'll see how it goes. :)**_

 _ **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story. For now, this story is a one-shot, but we'll see how it goes. :)**_

 _ **Please let me know what you all thought. Any criticism is gladly accepted to help me improve as a writer.**_

 _ **Have a great day/night!**_


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